HAMILTON >> Colgate's proposed new athletic facility received final approval Saturday from the university's Board of Trustees to begin the design phase.

The trustees announced that the facility, featuring the new home of Colgate ice hockey, along with locker room facilities for both soccer and lacrosse, will be constructed on the site of the current Van Doren Field. A new soccer facility will be built on the soccer practice grounds located between Andy Kerr Stadium and Tyler's Field.

"The Board of Trustees is thrilled to move forward with this project," said Michael J. Herling, chair of the board committee on athletic affairs. "Building the New Athletic Facility underscores Colgate's commitment to excellence in athletics as a complement to our core academic mission."

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Raiders Director of Athletics Victoria M. Chun also thanked the entire Colgate family for its support of the project.

"We are grateful to President Jeffrey Herbst, our Board of Trustees, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Murray Decock '80, and the entire advancement team for seeing this dream through to reality," Chun said. "To be able to cross the finish line in this manner provides a great sense of accomplishment to everyone involved.

"I don't recall any other project where so many members of the Colgate family contributed to this becoming a reality. The whole process of working together once again shows the true spirit that is Colgate University."

Starr Rink, the Raiders' home ice since 1959, opened its doors before the university became coeducational and doubled the size of its student body. With the passing of the decades, the facility has stretched to meet the needs of several Division I programs, providing offices for soccer, basketball and others.

Trustees voted unanimously in February to initiate the 97,000-square-foot New Athletic Facility project. The decision to move forward continues the momentum established with the construction and renovation of academic buildings, including the Case Library and Geyer Center for Information Technology, the Robert H.N. Ho Interdisciplinary Science Center and Lathrop Hall.

Chun said an architect for the new facility would be selected right away, with construction to begin immediately after the design phase is complete.

"The work is just beginning," Chun said. "The soccer field is already in the design phase and the plan is for our teams to be playing in their new stadium by the start of next season."